Springfield man gets 28 years for stabbing doctor

SPRINGFIELD (AP) — A Springfield man who stabbed and wounded an emergency room doctor has been sentenced to 28 years in prison.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/XJu8fM ) that James Hughes erupted in anger and began swearing at the judge at the end of his sentencing hearing on Wednesday.

Security guards quickly ushered the 48-year-old Hughes out of the courtroom.

Hughes was convicted in December of attempted murder.

In August 2010, he walked into a hospital emergency room asking to see a specific doctor. When another doctor appeared, he pulled a steak knife from his pants pocket and stabbed the woman in the chest. She was lightly wounded.

His attorney, Joseph Miller, requested a sentence at the lower end of the six- to 30-year sentencing range, citing Hughes' mental problems.